Rotational Fabrics in Metamorphic Minerals

Summary: A model has been constructed that establishes the geometry of inclusion fabrics to be expected in near-spherical crystals that grow continuously while either the crystals rotate in a static matrix or a matrix fabric rotates about them. Garnets in certain metamorphic rocks contain inclusion fabrics whose geometry is very similar to that of the model. Such syntectonic, snowball, or rotational garnets, as they have previously been termed, can be studied in three dimensions. A method is outlined whereby the rotation axes for individual crystals viewed in thick sections can be located in certain planes of cut. The significance of the geometry of included rotational fabrics is discussed in relation to previous work and to possible mechanisms of rotation.